


Megabytes

by InconvenientImmortal



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: (aka not killing a female character for the sake of man-pain), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Story Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-01-03 19:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12153378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InconvenientImmortal/pseuds/InconvenientImmortal
Summary: A collection of short, unfinished, or cut Megaman scenes (mostly ZeroX). Summaries can be found in the author’s note of each story bite. Brief summaries of new ‘chapters’ will be added to the main page every time the Megabytes collection updates.First short is a Zero/X scene that spawned"A Matter of Pride", but ultimately got cut. (Featuring: an embarrassed X and a very flattered Zero).Second short: an AU where X faced Iris at the end of X4 instead of Zero.Third short: Three shorts; two previously posted to Twitter in response to a few of @fivemegos' sketches, and one totally new short. Two sads and one sweet.





	1. “It’s the only way I could think of getting through to you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene that spawned **["A Matter of Pride"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11947905)** , which (ironically) got cut because it no longer fit the tone of the story (that’ll teach me not to write endings first!). I like this scene too much to keep it to myself, so consider this an alternate ending to “A Matter of Pride” (minus some of the necessary buildup).
> 
> The original draft of this story wasn’t about X4 at all; X just yelled at Zero for a similarly stupid self-sacrificing act and later came to Zero’s room to apologize for shouting at him (which I changed because I don't think X would apologize for calling Zero out on his dumb stunts). The draft also had this small tweak to their earlier exchange: 
> 
> “It’s as if—it’s as if you don’t even _value_ yourself, Zero!”  
>  “I do.”  
>  _I just value you more._  
>  The words left unspoken rang between them as clearly as if they’d been shouted.
> 
> Anyways, enough chit-chat. Please enjoy!

Then, X did something Zero never would have expected.

Hand still cupping Zero’s face, X leaned forward, just enough so he was almost standing on tiptoes, and placed a gentle kiss right below the corner of Zero’s mouth. The contact lasted hardly more than a second, but the motion made every single one of Zero’s sensors freeze. He was unable to focus on anything other than the Reploid in front of him, who was already stepping back, hand returning to his side and looking away by the time Zero fully-registered what just occurred.

“Someday…I hope you’ll care about yourself as much as I care about you.” He let out a small sigh, closing his eyes. “You’re worth _so much more_ than you think, Zero. I wish you could see just how amazing you really are.” X looked back up, only to find Zero staring at him, both eyebrows raised.

A moment passed. And another.

As though only now realizing what he’d done, X’s cheeks slowly turned from peach, to pink, to bright cherry red as Zero’s pronounced silence stretched on. X raised his hands, taking a step back from Zero and speaking quickly. “I-I’m sorry, that was a little weird, wasn’t it? Among humans, close friends sometimes share kisses on the cheek to show support and affection, but you’re so darn tall I couldn’t really reach—I know kisses on the mouth have a different connotation, but that wasn’t really a kiss on the mouth…was it?”

Zero said nothing to this, and X buried his face in his hands.

“Oh no,” he groaned, voice somewhat muffled by his hands. “I’m sorry Zero, I know you like your personal space, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or…I shouldn’t have assumed that you— I just wanted to—” X hesitated, trying to sort out his thoughts to figure out exactly _what_ it was he wanted to convey with his previous action. The response felt so natural that X hadn’t stopped to consider the possible repercussions, which…wasn’t like him. He sighed, folding his hands together and took a deep breath (which wasn’t necessary for someone who didn’t technically _need_ to breathe, but it calmed his nerves) before continuing. “I know my emotions can sometimes get the better of me, but that’s no excuse. I apologize for my thoughtless action, Zero.”

X, who couldn’t bring himself to look up, missed the brief expression that crossed Zero’s face during his stumbling speech, an expression which flickered from confusion, to amusement, to a certain kind of tenderness people typically associated with X. But as X caught none of this, it wasn’t until Zero made a noise somewhere between a snort and a cough that X finally looked up in surprise. Having failed to hide it, Zero couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the wide-eyed bewildered look X gave him.

“Z-Zero?” X spluttered, half irritated, half relieved. “What kind of response is that supposed to be?”

Zero shook his head, still laughing. It took a minute before he was able to compose himself, still grinning as he spoke. “Sorry. You just, uh, caught me off-guard.”

X valiantly resisted the urge to cover his face in embarrassment again. “Sorry about that.”

The taller Reploid shook his head, long blonde ponytail swaying behind him. “It’s fine. But you know—” he said, rubbing the back of his neck— “You don’t have to kiss me for me to know you care, like you don’t need me dying for you to know that I care. Er,” it was Zero’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “Not that there’s anything wrong with your kisses. Just, let me know next time so I can bend down a little for you, ok?”

X wasn’t typically fond of Zero’s morbid sense of humor, especially when it was at his friend’s expense, but he was willing to forgive him just this once. X beamed. “Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As I said in the beginning author’s note, because “A Matter of Pride” became more about X and Zero’s reaction to the Repliforce incident and their resultant coping methods, this scene no longer matched up with the tone, so even though it pained me to do so, I had to cut it. 
> 
> It feels really weird posting incomplete scenes, but I have a few others I'd like to share (after a little polishing-up) so this collection will probably update every once in a while. Please let me know which shorts are your favorites! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ (Also: thanks to Juliana for the extra nudge of encouragement that finally got me to get off my butt and start this collection. You're a real pal!)


	2. A Wish for the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In [an old sketchdump](http://thecreatorofworlds.tumblr.com/post/154053118541/ages-ago-i-said-id-give-the-mmx-girls-a-little), I came up with an AU where Iris didn’t die just for the sake of man pain, and I posed the question “What if X had faced her instead of Zero?” This is an unpolished answer to the aftermath of that question.

Iris sat where her ride armor fell, amongst heavy machinery and broken weapons, not caring enough to raise her head as X slowly approached, his buster arm deactivated. He stopped a few feet in front of her, waiting. Her normally sleek brown hair hung in messy tangles, bangs lose over her face, hiding her expression. A few shallow cuts and scratches ornamented her usually fastidiously clean armor, but ultimately, she had no serious wounds from their battle.

X hadn’t been so lucky. The upper portion of his right arm throbbed painfully where one of Iris' shots hit him, but his nanites were already working hard to repair it. The price he’d paid to ensure the battle hadn’t ended in a death was ultimately a small one. But the fight wasn’t quite over.

“All we wanted…all I wanted was a world where only Reploids existed.” The echo of Iris’ whispered words in the dark hallway sounded lonely, distant, as though she was far away from X instead of a few feet in front of him.

“Iris...there is no world for just Reploids. No matter how much you want it to be so, it's not a reality, and it never will be.” X knelt carefully, gaze focused even though she wouldn’t look at him. “But this world, a world of humans _and_ Reploids is still worth fighting for.”

Iris finally looked up at him, and—

Oh.

X recognized those eyes, because they had been _his_ eyes after the first war with Sigma. Shadowed, and hollow, and so…lifeless. The innocent, hopeful shine in Iris’ eyes, one of her most characteristic features, was gone, as too was the cheerful smile that usually accompanied it.

“He killed…my brother.”

The utter numbness in her voice cut through X as though it were a blade.

“I know.” X didn’t need to ask who ‘he’ was. He knew who Iris was waiting for in this corridor the second he saw her, just like he knew where Colonel’s pride would ultimately lead him, and the path Zero would be forced to take to stop him. “If we'd known Sigma was behind this sooner, we might've been able to keep all this from happening. But regardless of the underlying cause, because of Repliforce's betrayal, Reploids are being persecuted now more than ever.”

Iris said nothing to this, her eyes still locked on his, as though she were drowning and X was just out of reach.

“People are afraid,” X pressed on. “Humans _and_ Reploids. If you want to make a world that's safe for Reploids, help by changing the world we're already in.”

“What kind of world do you wish for?”

A sudden memory struck him, a moment of displaced time—his back against Zero’s as they sat in the training room, his friend’s golden hair spilling over his shoulders as they took a break. The same question, posed to X in a soft tone, and his immediate reply without hesitation. The hum of acknowledgement from behind him, and the moment of quiet that followed.

“A world where we no longer have to fight; one where people and Reploids can exist along-side one another and live any kind of life without fear. A world where any two people can join hands and live in peace.” X took a shaky breath. “I want to make the world a better place for Reploids, but I want to make it better for people too.”

Her expression flickered for a moment, an unreadable look crossing her face for a fraction of a second. “Why humans too?”

“Because I care just as much about them. They're living creatures like us, with lives and friends and hopes and dreams. We're not so different,” he said, a note of desperation in his tone. He needed her to understand, _if she could just understand_ … “The gap between our kinds has widened, and we need people to help bridge it, now more than ever.”

X offered her his hand, palm up.

“Please, Iris. Help me make that world a reality.”

In all his battles, in nearly half a century’s worth of wars, X had never once been able to talk down an enemy from fighting. But this was Iris, his Navigator, his _ally_. She and her brother were based not only on his design, but his _ideals_. Even without 100 years of morality tests, if he could just alter her reasoning, appeal to her logic, then maybe for _once_ he could stop a needless fight and prevent yet another casualty.

Iris looked at him hard for a long moment, silent, as though still smothered by the weight of everything that happened. Then, paradoxically, she laughed. It was a small, sad, broken little laugh that cracked in the middle, as though it might shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment. “I envy you, X.” She leaned forward and raised a hand to his face, to the tear tracks that cut through the battle grime on his cheek. “You’re able cry for me, for someone who just tried to kill you, and yet I…I can’t even cry for my brother.” She closed her eyes tight, lip trembling. “…It would have been so much easier if you had killed me.”

Her hand encircled his. X didn't let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I’ve had this scene in my head for months, so I finally sat down and wrote a small portion of it out while taking a break from a different fic. Even though I still want to polish this up and turn it into a longer fic someday, I figured I could post what I have now in this Megabytes collection since I’m not sure if / when I’ll ever get to it. 
> 
> (I wasn't sure whether or not I should post this as a stand-alone or in the collection, so I did a twitter poll and the majority said the collection. I'm still unsure of how I feel about collections since by nature of it being a collection, I don't know what story is liked the most, but I'll figure things out).


	3. A Selection of Shorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three shorts; two previously posted to Twitter in response to a few of @fivemegos' sketches, and one totally new short. The first two are a bit on the angsty-side, sorry about that! Hopefully the last one makes up for it a little bit.

_An encounter with a formidable opponent leaves X worse for wear and Zero desperate to help him.  
_ Based on [**a sketch**](https://twitter.com/fivemegos/status/867600587335942144) by @fivemegos.

-

“I finally…saved you for once…” X smiled, but it looked forced, a barely concealed breath of pain escaping through his gritted teeth. His left side, which had taken the brunt of the Maverick’s final assault, was badly damaged. Deep fissures ran across his chest and shoulder armor, and his left arm ended right above the elbow. Wires hung limply from the base, the teal fabric on X’s upper arm shredded and burned. A trickle of red coolant leaked from under X’s cracked helmet, slowly running down the curve of his temple.

Zero tried, and failed, to swallow the lump of panic rising in his throat. “Don’t talk.” There was a slight tremor in his voice, but the hand that raised an E-tank to X’s lips was steady, his other one supporting the back of X’s head.

X’s eyelids drooped half-closed, gaze unfocused. Zero held X securely, protectively, shielding his friend’s already damaged form with his own to keep any further harm to come to him.

Help. X needed help.

“Alia,” he said quickly, activating his communication channel.

Something in his tone must have alerted her to the severity of the situation, because she immediately replied, “What’s wrong?”

“X is hurt. Badly. I need a Lifesaver, a medic, _someone_. Please, help him. Help me save him.”

 

* * *

 

 _The ones left behind._    
Based on **[a sketch](https://twitter.com/fivemegos/status/954492285399388160)** by @fivemegos.

-

Axl had always admired Zero, even before the famous war hero recruited him as a Maverick Hunter. Zero was loyal, he was smart, he was strong, he was all the things a soldier needed to be to stay alive for as long as he had (give or take a few temporary deaths).

It was precisely _because_ Axl liked Zero so much that he could afford to be so angry with him right now, even if he hadn’t immediately understood why X was kneeling before a sealed capsule with Zero sleeping peacefully inside. All Axl saw was Zero refusing to wake up, refusing to answer his inconsolable best friend, even when X was screaming for him. Axl couldn’t understand—how could Zero ignore X when he needed him? It was cruel, it was out of character, but more than that, it felt wrong.

Whenever X was hurt, Zero was at his side in an instant, ready to comfort him or fight the source of his distress. Zero would willingly sacrifice himself and the world for X, if it meant keeping him safe and happy. But right now, X was in front of Zero on his hands and knees, howling in agony as though he were mortally wounded, yet Zero still didn't answer.

It was only when Axl made that connection that he realized it wasn’t a matter of Zero being unwilling to answer X.

Zero couldn’t answer because he just _wasn’t there_.

 

* * *

 

_Axl and Zero have a conversation about X while waiting for him to show up. (Snippet takes place mid-conversation)._

_-_

“X sometimes seems too…infallible to be real, I guess. And yeah, sometimes it’s a little frustrating to try and keep up with a ‘model of perfection’.”

“X isn’t perfect.” Zero crossed his arms, leaning against the rec room wall. “I’ve seen him do a lot of weird stuff, and make a lot of dumb mistakes.”

Axl turned his head so quickly he probably would’ve cricked his neck if he was human. As it was, he still rubbed the back of it with one hand, eyeing Zero with interest. “Like what?”

Zero shrugged. “Random things.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the rookie hunter. “Why do you want to know?”

“I dunno,” Axl leaned back against his chair, propping his feet up on the coffee table and looking up at the ceiling, arms draped across the top of the couch. “Hearing embarrassing stories about X makes him sound less intimidating. Like he’s a normal guy, not some vague ‘Father of all Reploids’ or ‘famous Maverick Hunter’ figure, y'know?”

Zero felt like there was hardly anything about X that could qualify as ‘normal’, but he knew what Axl meant. He silently sifted through a few different files in his mind, reviewing old memories before finally settling on one. “Once I saw X trying to water one of the plants someone put in the lounge. He did it religiously for about a week. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was fake.”

Axl snorted, leaning his head back and grinning at Zero upside-down. “I don’t think I could’ve resisted; I would’ve wanted to see his reaction. So what happened?”

“I think he finally realized it was fake in the middle of watering it one day because he got embarrassed, tried to casually set the glass of water down, wound up knocking it over, cleaned it up, and sheepishly made a quick exit back to his room.”

The rec room door slid open as Axl snickered, and X stepped through. "What's got you in such a good mood today, Axl?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm afraid I haven't really been in the fic-writing mood lately for a few different reasons (burnout being the biggest one). I do miss writing and working on fics though, so hopefully I'll get back on track soon.
> 
> In other news, I've been interning at a publishing place for the past few months! It's been a very fun experience; I've been thoroughly enjoying the editing / acquisition / proofreading work I've been doing.


End file.
